On Message

Industrial-scale scam centres are no longer a marginal problem— recent news from META shows they are embedded in the global messaging ecosystem. This episode explores why fraud has become systemic, how it exploits trust across channels, and why protecting messaging now requires coordinated action across the entire value chain. Let us know and share your opinions at +44 7770 1962 27 send us SMS, RC...

Tougher governance — but less privacy than before Let us know and share your opinions at +44 7770 1962 27 send us SMS, RCS, Viber or WhatsApp and stay ON MESSAGE.

A new baseline for online child safety Let us know and share your opinions at +44 7770 1962 27 send us SMS, RCS, Viber or WhatsApp and stay ON MESSAGE.

Near‑universal messaging — but large files still lag Let us know and share your opinions at +44 7770 1962 27 send us SMS, RCS, Viber or WhatsApp and stay ON MESSAGE.

Why the first global AI cybersecurity standard matters for mobile? Let us know and share your opinions at +44 7770 1962 27 send us SMS, RCS, Viber or WhatsApp and stay ON MESSAGE.

Foldables, AI PCs, 6G — and the future of mobile telecom. Let us know and share your opinions at +44 7770 1962 27 send us SMS, RCS, Viber or WhatsApp and stay ON MESSAGE.

160 million mobile lines. 120 days. Zero anonymity. Let us know and share your opinions at +44 7770 1962 27 send us SMS, RCS, Viber or WhatsApp and stay ON MESSAGE.

Why great user experience hasn’t changed — even as interfaces move from keypads to AI conversations. Let us know and share your opinions at +44 7770 1962 27 send us SMS, RCS, Viber or WhatsApp and stay ON MESSAGE.

How Spain’s 2G shutdown is being delayed by lift emergency phones — and what it means for spectrum policy, IoT, and network sunsets everywhere. Let us know and share your opinions at +44 7770 1962 27 send us SMS, RCS, Viber or WhatsApp and stay ON MESSAGE.

How AI’s exploding energy demand could reshape the mobile ecosystem. As data‑centre power use is set to more than double by 2030, Dario Betti explains why electricity is no longer “someone else’s problem” for operators, how edge computing and sustainability become strategic levers, and why energy must now be treated as the third pillar of digital infrastructure. Let us know and share your opinions...

Dario examines Google's new RCS message archiving feature for Android Enterprise devices. He cuts through the headlines to explain what the feature actually does, why it exists—hint: regulatory compliance—and what it means for the evolving boundary between private conversation and auditable workplace communication in a world where "encrypted" doesn't always mean "private.&qu...

Dario examines how researchers exploited a weakness in WhatsApp's contact discovery to enumerate 3.5 billion phone numbers – along with profile photos and "about" text for hundreds of millions of users. He explains why phone numbers make poor identifiers at global scale, what this means for privacy and security across the mobile ecosystem, and why WhatsApp's move toward usernames...

Dario unpacks how Italy’s antitrust authority is challenging Meta’s integration of Meta AI inside WhatsApp and the exclusion of rival chatbots from the WhatsApp Business platform. He explains why this matters for competition, data sovereignty and the future of AI in messaging – and what lessons mobile operators and the RCS ecosystem should draw from it. Let us know and share your opinions at +44 7...

Dario breaks down the major M&A moves reshaping telecoms and the wider TMT sector in 2025. From mega‑deals in the US and Europe to fibre carve‑outs, tower sales and regional consolidation, he explains why scale, capital efficiency and digital infrastructure have become the true prizes—and what this shift means for operators, investors and the future of connectivity. Let us know and share your...

Dario unpacks Meta’s new WhatsApp Business Calling API. He explains how native voice inside WhatsApp threads changes customer journeys, why AI‑ready voice matters for brands and CPaaS providers, and what this move means for telcos, RCS and the future of omnichannel strategy. Let us know and share your opinions at +44 7770 1962 27 send us SMS, RCS, Viber or WhatsApp and stay ON MESSAGE.

In this episode of ON MESSAGE, MEF CEO Dario Betti looks back at 2025, the year social media turned into social messaging. He explains why platforms like X, Threads, Instagram and TikTok are pouring resources into DMs, how younger users are shifting from public posts to private chats, and what this “private‑first” world means for platforms, brands and the mobile ecosystem. Let us know and share yo...

Dario unpacks India’s U‑turn on making the Sanchar Saathi security app mandatory on new smartphones. He explains why the government backed off, why critics still worry about surveillance and data governance, and what this case tells the global mobile ecosystem about trust, stateware, and the limits of embedding security tools into personal devices. Let us know and share your opinions at +44 7770 1...

In this episode of ON MESSAGE, MEF CEO Dario Betti examines Ericsson's strategic stake in LotusFlare and what it signals about the future of network API monetisation. He explains how Ericsson is assembling an end-to-end stack—combining programmable networks, API aggregation, and digital commerce—to help telcos turn 5G capabilities into revenue beyond connectivity, and why execution and openness wi...

In this episode of ON MESSAGE, MEF CEO Dario Betti unpacks the latest forecasts for the digital identity market, which is set to surpass $132 billion by 2031. He explains what’s behind the growth, why digital identity is becoming critical infrastructure for the digital economy, and how telecom operators can move from connectivity to the centre of the “trust layer” that will mediate people, devices...

On November 5th, 2025, Snap announced a one-year partnership with Perplexity AI that will integrate Perplexity's conversational "answer engine" directly into Snapchat's Chat tab starting in early 2026. Perplexity will pay Snap $400 million in cash and equity for the placement—a high-margin, non-advertising revenue stream signaling Snap's push to diversify beyond ads. Dario Be...

Zscaler's latest threat report reveals a 67% year-over-year increase in Android malware transactions and finds that 40% of IoT malware activity is concentrated in manufacturing and transportation. The report, covering June 2024 to May 2025, identifies 239 malicious apps on Google Play with a combined 42 million installs and highlights a 387% spike in attacks on the energy sector. Dario Betti,...

On October 21, 2025, Meta announced new scam detection features for WhatsApp and Messenger aimed at protecting older adults. WhatsApp now warns users when they attempt to share their screen with unknown contacts during calls—a common tactic to steal banking details and one-time passcodes. Messenger is testing AI-powered scam detection that flags suspicious messages and prompts users to block or re...

When you make a phone call today, your voice travels over the internet—not copper wires. Yet the rules governing how voice networks interconnect are still rooted in the time-division multiplexing (TDM) era. The FCC's "Advancing IP Interconnection" proposal would sunset those legacy obligations by 2028 and establish a new framework for IP-to-IP interconnection. Dario Betti, CEO of the...

In August 2025, Italy's telecom regulator AGCOM reclassified Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) as electronic communications networks—subjecting them to the same registration, fees, and transparency rules as telecom operators. Netflix, AWS, and Cloudflare immediately appealed, warning the move could degrade service quality, raise costs, and slow edge infrastructure deployment. Dario Betti, CEO o...

In October 2025, Indonesia suspended TikTok's operating licence over incomplete livestream data from August protests—but kept the app online. It's a new governance lever: administrative pressure without a full ban. The same week, Apple removed an immigration tracking app in the U.S., and Nepal reversed social media restrictions after public backlash. Dario Betti, CEO of the Mobile Ecosyste...